It’s hunting season for colleges. They are trying to score the highest caliber athletes and scholars. The schools will stop at nothing to sign their athletes. This year, the fortunate individuals from Academic Magnet are Elaine Zhou, Hayden DiBona, and Cooper Pitts.

Elaine Zhou, a swift swimmer with sleek dolphin-like strokes, caught Princeton’s Ivy League eye. Ranking fourth in South Carolina for swimming and 154th in all of college swimming, her talent could hardly butterFLY under the radar. Seeing as butterfly is her favorite stroke, we wish her the best in her migration to Princeton, New Jersey. She will certainly be donning a new jersey to move on from representing the Raptors to the Princeton Tigers.

Hayden Dibona’s final choice is a bit closer to home, signing with the College of Charleston. Even with times that are first in South Carolina for the 5,000m event, CofC ran and caught up to him. With aspirations to go to the Honors college and double major in Biology and Business, we wish him the best of luck to reach this finish line.

Just like Elaine, Cooper Pitts ranks fourth in South Carolina for swimming. However, his best stroke is the breaststroke, frog kicking all the way to three State Championships. He certainly didn’t play hooky for the Virginia Tech Hokie birds, signing with their swim team. He is excited to move away to Virginia and be a part of the Hokie family.

As they move on from high school and into an unlimited future of college, we wish them the best of luck in their endeavors. We send them all the love from the Academic Magnet Community.